


In The Weeks After

by joufancyhuh



Series: Bad Puns & Finger Guns [7]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, post Final Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 19:06:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10472004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joufancyhuh/pseuds/joufancyhuh
Summary: The Ryder twins recuperate after the final battle.





	

**Author's Note:**

> _Her initial impression, that he looked at her like she was his future, was fading more and more with each day that went past without a word from him._

Defeating the Archon meant one dreadful thing to Elspeth Ryder: Paperwork. Though she was happy to have him out of the lives of people she cared for, the sheer volume of data made her wish to be back on the field, fighting whoever was foolish enough to get on the opposite side of her gun. There was also the matter of her bed rest, which Dr. Lexi had pushed onto her. Cora ended up telling her about the nosebleed after all.

Elspeth wanted to ring Cora’s neck for that, but the biotic made herself scarce around the Atrium. She wasn’t the only one. The Atrium was a dead zone, with only herself and a few technicians running around. She imagined that everyone was out, exploring, doing her job. She should be out there with them. She was the Pathfinder, after all.

What made it worse was knowing that Reyes was somewhere on Meridian, and she didn’t want to admit it, but it hurt that he hadn’t exactly come to see her. She wasn’t sure what to expect from him, but the radio silence was deafening as each day of bed rest passed. It wasn’t like she could just head out and meet him somewhere. She had an escort around the Hyperion, one who Elspeth suspected was assigned to her by the doctor. That escort halted many of her escape attempts.

Her brother, Brees, who was in yet another coma, had been moved to her room so that she could monitor him. It was more convenient for the doctor, but Elspeth was glad to have him where she could see him, even if it did mean sleeping on the couch so he had the bed. The urge to draw on his sleeping face with markers was strong. Maybe an inconvenient hair cut would do.

She talked to Brees in his sleep, letting him know about everything that had happened since he woke up the first time. She apologized for not being better at communicating, but said he could use some improvement in that area, too. She told him about Zap and Poc, and how she missed them. She told him about PJ, the ship pyjak, and her hamster… thing that she named Jyn after their pet bird back on Earth. She told him about Reyes.

She told him about how she kept replaying how she said there was a future to plan, and how Reyes had given her this… look, one she had been trying to decode ever since. Her initial impression, that he looked at her like she was his future, was fading more and more with each day that went past without a word from him. She wasn’t one to overanalyze, but Reyes was different. He was elusive, hard to pin down. She knew he cared about her, and that should have been enough, but then that look he had given her shook her to the core. It made her realize that she wanted that future with him, and she wasn’t sure if that was an option.

Brees, being mute on the matter, was at least a good listener. Elspeth knew that she would never retell him everything she said, but it was nice to let it out into the open.

The end of bed rest was arriving however. One more week, Dr. Lexi said. Just to be sure. And all Elspeth thought about was seeing Reyes and asking him, was there a future for them? Or was it like she told Vetra, that she was just the consort of Kadara?

A box with pink ribbon appeared on her desk overnight while she slept, addressed to her. She picked it up, studying it carefully. On the front was a card that read, “So you don’t have to steal this one. See you soon.”

She unwrapped the gift to find a Remnant Derelict Model. She smiled, thinking back on an earlier conversation they had about the ship models. She shouldn’t have been so easily swayed by the present, but that’s just how Reyes was. Soon would not be there fast enough.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, drafts can be found on my tumblr under the same name. I was convinced by [Skarpetkamroku](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Skarpetkamroku)to post it here. 
> 
> I had to have something. She was on bed rest but Reyes never sees her? Wth. I swear he loves her, I swearrrr. When I saw that model sitting on her desk though, and I knew it wasn't there before, well, the sequel to Thieves just hit me.


End file.
